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Young at Heart Final 2022

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Peggy Pollard, Teacher www.PeggyDance.weebly.com Santa Cruz Waltz & Swing In-Person & Online Dances & Lessons Waltz Tribe membership Grow your mind, body & soul Dance to music you love Sign up Now for upcoming Classes! TAKE A FRESH LOOK AT CURVES FOR YOUR FITNESS GOALS ALL NEW Scan to schedule a FREE CONSULTATION You aren't alone! A coach to support you. At-Home On Demand Workout NEW 30 minute strength training circuit with a Curves Coach Virtual Online Curves Coach NEW Nutrition and Weight Management Program NEW Health and Wellness Education Series NEW Specialty Fitness Classes NEW Monthly Challenges NEW Come be a part of the all new Curves! Call now! Don't delay! Give yourself 30 minutes and start feeling stronger today. © 2021 Curves. All Rights Reserved IN - CLUB AND AT - HOME MEMBERSHIPS AVAILABLE 7000 201 Locally Owned and Operated 7000 Soquel Dr, Aptos 201 River St, Santa Cruz 688-2348 or 465-8228 7000 Soquel Dr, Aptos 831-688-2348 AptosCurves@gmail.com Curious ... continued from page 1 with hospice care and dementia care. "Our role in working as a team in conjunction with the var- ious Hospice programs is one of the most significant roles for our caregivers. A home care aide can provide the care a loved one needs while leaving space for family to just be together." Hospice care in the home does not provide for 24/7 care; caregivers work in tandem under the direction of the hospice nurses and other hospice team members. "Our caregivers provide comfort and support to family members during this difficult time." Because family members are often uncomfortable with handling the progres- sion of dementia, Visiting Angels' work with demen- tia clients is an area that is particularly helpful to the elderly and their fami- lies. Caregivers receive training and guidance with dementia and the various stages people with dementia experience. The agency also works with local veterans through the home and through community-based care programs. "We are very proud of the services we are able to offer to the men and women who once protected us and who we can honor with our support," says Jeanette. There are several myths about in-home services. "One common miscon- ception is that people feel that having in-home care means giving up your independence," says Jea- nette. "In-home care pro- vides the ability to remain independent in your own home." Services make it possible for seniors to continue to live at home rather than moving to a facility. "In-home care is not there to take indepen- dence away; it actually promotes independence and allows it to continue. When home care begins early with companionship and socialization, by the time the elderly person needs stand-by assistance and eventually full hands- on assistance, the client and the caregiver have already built a relationship of trust and confidence and the need for assistance happens gradually and naturally." Jeanette opened her Visiting Angels site in 2004, and it provides in- home care for hundreds of people each year in Santa Cruz and Monterey Counties. It's part of the national Visiting Angels agency; each Visiting Angels site is a franchise, independently owned and operated. Earlier this year, Visiting Angels of the Central Coast was named one of the top 100 home care agencies in the U.S. Jeanette and her husband originally owned another business that was suffer- ing during the dot.com crash, when she decided she wanted to branch out and do something more meaningful. She realized that working with seniors was something she en- joyed. "I've always loved engaging with the elderly, I was a Certified Nursing Assistant and a dialysis technician when I was in high school and college. I watched my parents care for my grandmothers and saw how much they struggled. For me, I was perfectly content and pa- tient and had the knack for it. As I researched what I could do with seniors, I found Visiting Angels. I had no idea there was a business that did what I love, and I knew I'd found my next career." When the COVID pandemic began in March 2020, it had a significant impact on the business and its customers. "While the state designated us an essential business and we weren't required to close, initially many clients were afraid to have anyone in their homes and cancelled services," says Jeanette. "They were unsure during the stay-at-home order with the media highlight- ing the senior population's vulnerability," says Cindy. "We saw many seniors who became very lonely and depressed as they sheltered in place. Even their families stayed away for fear of infecting them. Gradually, as vaccines became available, we saw an increase in service from both our existing clientele as well as new clients." Many caregivers were afraid to work and/ or couldn't work because they lost their childcare or had to keep their children home from school. "During the initial stages of the pandemic, we were fortunate to receive a PPP loan and were able to pay our caregivers wages when they were not able to work," says Jeanette. "We were also able to pay additional Hazard pay for several months during the peak of the pandemic." Over time, more and more caregivers have returned to work. "Today, we are busier than we have ever been," says Cindy. The CZU Lighting Com- plex Fires, also affected Visiting Angels' care recipients. "We had a few clients who lost every- thing," says Cindy. "It was heartbreaking to see how people in their 80's and 90's lost everything. But they navigated through this tragedy and ended up thriving. Clients chose not to rebuild, but rather downsized to a mobile home or moved out of the area to be near family. This was such an amazing look at how resilient peo- ple can be at any age!" Visiting Angels of the Central Coast utilizes Home Care Pulse, an independent experience management and satis- faction research firm, to gather feedback and satisfaction ratings from clients and caregivers. They regularly review the feedback, and make changes as needed to ensure they are providing optimum care to their customers and sufficient support to their caregiver employees. Here are a few caregiver quotes from the Home Care Pulse Independent Survey. "Visiting Angels of the Central Coast is a very caring company." "They're good and repu- table. They support you when a situation comes up. At the beginning, they show you how to do things and to work with clients. They give you training tools." "They have flexibili- ty, support, and good co-workers! The training was super thorough. It gave me a lot of confi- dence that I would be able to manage tasks that I take on." If you have an aging parent, Jeanette has advice for planning ahead for potential care. "It is important to understand what it is your parents may want and need," she says. "Have these talks well in advance of your aging parents needing assistance." Questions to ask include "Once they are unable to care for themselves, do they want to stay in their own home or move to a facility? If your parents want to stay home, will the family be providing care, or will you need to rely on an outside source like a home care provider to assist your parents on a regular basis?" Another area to look at now is finances: Does your loved one have Long Term Care Insurance? Are there Veterans Administra- tion Benefits available to them? Do they have funds available for services whether in their home or in an Assisted Living Facility? Do they own their home? Is a reverse mortgage a possibility? Last but not least, look into local home care agen- cies (such as Visiting An- gels) and assisted living facilities. "Get informa- tion about them," advises Jeanette. "Some agencies will perform consultations in your parents' home at no cost. This is a great time to meet with agencies and get a sense for which ones you like most." If you tour assisted living facilities, you can discov- er which have the services you want. "Look for plac- es that have a comfortable and homelike feeling. Try the food. And remember, you may need to get on a waiting list." Contact Info: www.visitingangels.com/ centralcoast 5274 Scotts Valley Dr. #102, Scotts Valley, 831- 430-0616 229 Reindollar Ave. Suite E, Marina, 831-392-0876 Contributed photo Contributed photo More tips from Visiting Angels, for those wondering if your aging parents need care: • Keep track of their appearance on a regular basis: poor hygiene, unkempt appearance, strong body odors, and wearing the same clothes for days can be a sign that your parents are not capable of fully caring for themselves. • Are they paying their bills on time? This is often one of the first things we notice; bills become overdue, or mail piles up on the dining room table and your loved one seems overwhelmed by it. • Review what your parents eat on a regular basis and look inside their refrigerator: Often when we start a new case, one of the first problem areas is the refrigerator. When people start to lose the ability to care for themselves, they can forget to throw out uneaten food which can then go weeks or months to the point where it becomes moldy. Additionally, keeping up with your parents' eating habits is important, including noticing if your parents start to miss/skip eating meals. • Check out the appearance of the house. Is it maintained or is there a lot of clutter? Are important items such as cash or jewelry suddenly missing? Does your loved one think these items are being stolen rather than misplaced? • If your parents have pets: Are they able to take care of the pets? Are they fed regularly and appearing to be in good health? • Medication management: Are your parents managing and taking their medication appropriately? • Falls/balance issues: family members are often too embarrassed to admit they have fallen so look for signs of falls such as bruising, skin wounds, etc. People often don't "remember" how they were injured. Other signs of falling may be missing or broken items.

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